Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.26 percent to 16,694.18 while the NASDAQ surged 0.25 percent to 4,445.10. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.29 percent to 1,952.45.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Thursday, utilities shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.69 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE: CPK), up 3.2 percent, and American Water Works Company (NYSE: AWK), up 2 percent.